


Romanian Holiday

by MarzgaPerez



Series: Wherever You Go [2]
Category: God’s Own Country (2017)
Genre: Family Feels, Healing, M/M, Meet the Family, Mild Smut, Past Relationship(s), Reunions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-10-11 00:39:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17436536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarzgaPerez/pseuds/MarzgaPerez
Summary: This is a sequel to Tweleve Days per the request of some lovely GOC fans.Gheorghe returns to Romania to help his mother manage the family farm. John comes for a visit and has the chance to learn more about Gheorghe’s life from before.Told from Gheorghe’s POV. Thanks to TheMewsAtTen for giving this a looksie before I posted.





	Romanian Holiday

_Poor_ _John_. Gheorghe could picture him on the plane. He probably got stuck with the middle seat, gripping both hand rests, knuckles stark white, sweat forming on his brow, lips moving in a quiet prayer—though John was not the praying kind.

It would be John’s first flight. To visit Gheorghe in Romania. To meet his family. To reconnect.

Gheorghe was just a few minutes from the airport. He had been careful not to speed. His uncle had lent him his car—begrudgingly—and only at the insistence of Gheorghe’s mother.

The night before, he’d overheard their conversation from his room off the kitchen. He supposed his uncle knew as much but didn’t care.

His mother’s voice was calm. She had learned how to respond to her brother-in-law over time. “Let him borrow the car. His friend will only be here a few days.”

“ _Friend_?” His uncle practically choked out the word. “When are you going to stop encouraging this _cacat_ from your son?”

“He came to help us, didn’t he?” His mother had defended him his whole life, and she wasn’t about to relent. “I’d like to enjoy this time with Gheorghe. You need to be kind.”

“In that case, the less I’m here, the better!” His uncle had stormed outside and driven away. But the afternoon of the following day, he’d handed the car keys over to Gheorghe without a word.

Gheorghe had warned John about his uncle’s general demeanor, but he hadn’t mentioned his prejudice towards gay people...or _bulangiu_ , as his uncle would sometimes utter under his breath.

It didn’t help matters that Gheorghe left the family farm after he turned twenty-one. Right at the beginning of lambing season.  He had gone to live with a young man named Anghel. His first love.

Anghel was a few years older than Gheorghe with gorgeous dark brown eyes and sun-kissed skin. His hands were soft to the touch, unlike Gheorghe’s rough, calloused farm hands. They’d taken notice of each other one summer in the marketplace.

Anghel was visiting family and looking for an apprenticeship. He’d acquired some land in the western region of the country and wanted to have a go at sheep farming. Gheorghe laughed out loud when he’d casually mentioned it. _Who in their right mind would choose such an endeavor?_ But Anghel seemed even more convinced after sampling some of the cheeses Gheorghe was peddling that day.

Their attraction had been immediate, though neither of them spoke of it until a few days later. Anghel returned to the market and asked Gheorghe if he’d like to go for a coffee. They’d spent hours talking at the café and then a few more hours in Anghel’s car. The rest was history.

From the beginning, Anghel had a swagger that Gheorghe knew would be problematic one day, but he fell anyway. Hard.

Anghel had grown up in Bucharest and didn’t give two shits about what other people thought about him. He never tried to hide his affection for Gheorghe, which led to Gheorghe coming out of the shadows he’d so carefully traversed. This was particularly displeasing to his uncle, who told Gheorghe he was damaging the Ionescu name with his immoral behavior.

In spite of his uncle’s disapproval, it was one of the best summers of Gheorghe’s life. Anghel extended his stay through autumn, seemingly whittling away at Gheorghe’s loyalty to his family homestead—not to be manipulative or mean-spirited. They were in love and wanted to have a life together.

Gheorghe decided that would mean joining Anghel in his new venture and becoming a partial owner in his farm. It would be a huge gamble, both of them so young, and Anghel so inexperienced.

The hard work and commitment required eventually took a toll on their relationship. Not to mention the money that Gheorghe had lost along the way, money he’d saved for school or perhaps another flock for his family’s farm. Instead, that money had gotten pissed away as his and Anghel’s farm failed to thrive and their relationship fell apart due to Anghel’s wandering eye.

Gheorghe didn’t have it in him to go back home—he was too ashamed for leaving in the first place. Instead, he’d applied for a work visa in Germany and was fortunate to have it approved. Others he knew were not as lucky and had to pay exorbitant amounts of money to assure safe passage through Hungary and beyond.

Gheorghe’s mother sent him enough money for airfare, and he vowed to pay her back and then some, knowing how the supply of livestock in Romania was far exceeding the demand. She was blessed with her job as an English teacher, but she’d promised her husband, Gheorghe’s father, who’d died from an illness when Gheorghe was ten, that the farm would go on. She had two other children to care for as well, Gheorghe’s brother and sister, Mihas and Cat, but somehow managed to provide for all of her children—even the ones who made poor life decisions.

Germany had brought Gheorghe steady work and a special friend here or there. No one like Anghel, which suited Gheorghe just fine. He was lonely though, missing his family and tired of encountering people who glared at him like he didn’t belong, or worse, spat and cursed at him and told him to go home to his own country.

Once his contract had ended in Wittmund, he’d followed a lead across the North Sea, all the way to Wales. The job paid enough to keep him fed and sheltered during the winter. And he had extra money to send home.

Gheorghe liked the UK slightly more than Germany, as a greater number of people spoke a language he understood. They weren’t necessarily less hostile or suspicious of Gheorghe’s darker skin and obvious accent, but he reasoned that enough people had been kind that warranted him sticking around a little longer.

Still, work seemed to be scarce. If it hadn’t been for the help wanted ad from the Saxbys—and everything that had happened since—he probably would have returned to Romania sooner. And by everything, of course, he meant John.

John was the complete opposite of Anghel, broken and lost but honest and real—not that Gheorghe compared the two of them often. There really was no comparison. If Gheorghe thought he knew what love was before, he had been mistaken. Maybe it had something to do with being a little older and a little wiser, but Gheorghe had seen something special in John. It was as though John was some well kept secret left for Gheorghe to discover.

He hadn’t ever not been intrigued by John, but he had been put off by his ignorant comments and false bravado. From the moment he’d set foot in John’s truck, Gheorghe could read him like a book. Here was a young man who had all the potential in the world but was letting himself get in the way...of himself.

There was more to it, as Gheorghe would discover at John’s first and (hopefully) only betrayal, though they hadn’t been together long enough for Gheorghe to hold it against him forever. They returned to the Saxby’s farm from Scotland together, ready for what was to come.

The afterglow of this reunion lasted for months. The feelings they had for one another and perhaps their deep-seated determination had resulted in success for the Saxby farm—better care of the animals and the start of a prosperous side business with Gheorghe’s gourmet cheeses.

Sadly, John couldn’t keep going at that same pace. He kept to himself more and more and picked up his drinking again, not at that God-awful pub thankfully, but quietly, in the barn or the truck or some isolated corner of the pastures. Gheorghe tried to stay busy, hoping that it was something seasonal or temporary, but then John began to bottle up his frustrations and then unleash them, mostly on Gheorghe.

He’d implored John to get help multiple times, and after being ignored, decided to put some distance between them. The call from his mother, begging him to return to Romania, came at a difficult time but then gave Gheorghe a reason to reevaluate what he wanted for his future.

Once John took the initiative to see a therapist, it had been easier for Gheorghe to let his guard down again. He was more than relieved—letting go of John, had he continued on his destructive path, would have been too painful a notion.

They’d spoken on the phone nearly every day since Gheorghe had been in Romania. There wasn’t much time to talk with the expense of each call, but it was enough for John to know Gheorghe was in his corner and very likely planning to return to Yorkshire with him.

The time and distance that had separated them made Gheorghe nervous about their reunion. Feeling the wave of an excited panic, he parked his uncle’s car and checked the time on his watch. Any minute now, he’d have John in his sight.

With a spring in his step, Gheorghe headed towards the large arrival area, filing into the crowd of people waiting for their loved ones. He could see from the monitor that the flight he’d arranged for John had landed on time. It wouldn’t be much longer until John would walk out of the terminal and try to find Gheorghe in the fray of mothers and fathers, grandparents, young children, squalling babes, and a handful of drivers from the local hotels, who’d come to fetch their very important customers.

Gheorghe relished the overall excitement in the air. He’d never received his very own visitor from the airport. They’d emailed back and forth with Gheorghe’s last message to John reassuring him that the flight would be pleasant and uneventful and that Gheorghe would be keeping a watchful eye for when he arrived. John would be easy to spot, taller and paler than most of his traveling companions.

The minutes seemed to be dragging by. Gheorghe wondered if he should have bought a coffee for John. His mother had packed some bread and cheese and a few other items in case they wanted to sup on the way back to the farm.

Gheorghe felt the energy in the crowd shift as a wave of travelers began filing out of customs. His breath caught in his throat as he spotted a tall, pale lanky man with brown hair and a backpack perched against his shoulders. It had to be John. It had to be…

And it was. Gheorghe began waving frantically while pushing his way to the front of the crowd. _“Prietene! Prietene! My friend!”_ He was smiling and trying to catch John’s attention, which didn’t take long, thanks to the commotion he was causing.

John was close enough now that Gheorghe could see the smile spreading across his lips and the light glaze of tears over his eyes that he knew John would try to blink away. His heart was beating rapidly, and it took every bit of restraint that Gheorghe had not to break from the crowd and come at John with a running speed that would probably topple him and embarrass them both.

Instead, Gheorghe waited for John to walk close enough so that he could pull him into an embrace and soak in as much of him in the few seconds before they might be recognized as more than old chums.

John looked better than ever, tired but not as gaunt as when Gheorghe had last seen him. He wondered what was going through John’s mind but wanted to wait until they were alone to ask him.

Gheorghe refused to let go of his hand as he led John the rest of the way out of the airport, offering to carry his suitcase. He’d fumbled for the keys to his uncle’s car, opening the trunk and tossing the suitcase in the back and then helping John with his backpack, a moment of quiet settling between them.

“You’re here. You’re really here.” Gheorghe ran his fingers over John’s cheek, and then deciding he didn’t care about onlookers, cupped both hands around John’s face and pulled him into a deep kiss.

John smiled, slowly breaking their kiss, and threaded his fingers into Gheorghe’s. “Glad to see you missed me.”

<><><><><><><><><><>

They spent the next half hour making out like teenagers in the front of the car, fogging up the glass and having a good laugh about it. Gheorghe was secretly amused that John still tasted the same, tobacco and biscuits and tea all swirled together. They’d rolled down the window and shared a cigarette, passing it back and forth with a familiar and comfortable silence settling between them.

John called Nan to let her know that he’d arrived and was with Gheorghe. He handed the phone over to Gheorghe so that he could speak to her.

“We’ll take good care of him,” he promised.

“Ta. And that lad you hired is doin’ alright.”

“I’m glad. I hope to be back soon.”

“Even better.” From the tone in her voice, Gheorghe was certain he’d been missed. “I sent summat with John for your mum. You lads behave.”

“Thank you, Deirdre. We will.”

After hanging up with Nan, Gheorghe called his mother. John watched him curiously as he spoke to her in Romanian. After Gheorghe hung up the phone, John grabbed his thigh.

“Were you talking ‘bout me?”

Gheorghe laughed heartily as he started the car and drove them out of the airport. “I told my mother you forgot your heavy coat. It’s probably colder here than Yorkshire.”

“Aye. I thought it’d be warmer.”

Gheorge smiled and reached over to rub John’s shoulder. “I warned you, didn’t I? Just wait until we get to the farm.”

“That’s why I have you. To keep me warm.”

Their banter felt so natural, like no time had passed since they were last together. No matter where they were, it was as though they only existed for each other.

Darkness had settled over the city, but everything was still plenty visible, illuminated by the street lights and other brightly lit signs. John was fairly quiet, taking in the sights around him.

“Hang on.” Gheorghe turned into a parking lot of a multi-story building.

“Why’re we stopping ‘ere?” John sat up in his seat and furrowed his brow as he tried to decipher the sign on the outside of the building.

“Trust me. Let’s get your bags.”

John shrugged and followed Gheorghe into the building. Upon seeing a large desk with an attendant, he figured they were in a hotel. Gheorghe leaned over to whisper in John’s ear. “This will be the only night we get to share a bed. Wait here.”

John nodded, still a bit confused, but took a seat in the lobby. He was trying to seem nonchalant, though he tapped his foot nervously while flipping through a magazine. Gheorghe kept an eye on John until it was his turn to ask about a room.

“How many nights, sir?”

“Just one. Tonight.”

“Beds?”

“Two, please.” Gheorghe didn’t want to draw any extra attention to him and John, though he’d picked this hotel because it was moderately priced and seemed like the kind of place where people minded their own business.

After paying for the room and with key in hand, Gheorghe went to retrieve John. “It’s ready.”

Neither of them said much as they took the elevator to the third floor. Gheorghe led them to the door of their room and unlocked it, letting John pass through first and flipping on the lights. It was a plain-looking room with two beds, a small television, and a set of chairs with a round table nestled in between.

“Swanky,” John commented, dropping his suitcase and backpack on the ceramic tiled floor.

Gheorghe put the bag of snacks from his mother on the table. He walked over to where John was standing and encircled his arms around his waist. “I know it’s nothing special. I didn’t think I could wait another two hours and then God knows how long to—“

“No, it’s nice. I like it.” John grazed his lips tenderly against Gheorghe’s and peppered kisses down his neck, slipping his hands into the back pockets of Gheorghe’s jeans. “But can you wait another five minutes? I need to take a piss.”

Gheorghe chuckled, letting his head sink into John’s shoulder and slowly taking a step back. He pointed towards one of two doors. “I think it’s that one. And I’m next.”

<><><><><><><><><><>

Sleep was the least of their priorities that night. They’d taken time and care in removing each other’s clothes. Gheorghe was feeling nervous at first and sensed that John felt the same way. There was a mutual concern that everything had to be just so. But soon they fell into a familiar rhythm, only hungrier, more desperate, yet perfect in its own right.

After making love, they’d devoured the snacks from Gheorghe’s mother—the homemade bread and cheese and dried fruits, along with a thermos of lukewarm cider and a few bottles of water. Gheorghe offered to order some takeout or run down the street for something more substantial, but John wouldn’t let him out of his arms.

They fell asleep for a few hours, and then John awoke with a start, as though his body suddenly realized who was next to him, bare chested and snoring and lovely. He’d stirred Gheorghe from his slumber with a few sensuous caresses and then his hot, wet mouth enveloping every inch of Gheorghe’s cock. It wasn’t long before Gheorghe had his fingers threaded through John’s hair and was grinding his hips upwards into the delicious sensation.

Gheorghe pressed into the headboard, ready to let loose at any moment but trying to last as long as possible. His eyes locked with John’s, steady and full of love, and he knew he was a goner. Gheorghe cried out, his fingers digging into John’s shoulders, his hips arching upwards and then slowly dropping as John slid his mouth from Gheorghe’s cock to lay down beside him.

Gheorghe pulled John into his arms, slowly finding his breath. “You see … why we needed to do this?” He was already thinking about returning the favor.

“Aye.” John traced the tip of his finger along the dark hair of Gheorghe’s torso. “Cuz you were feeling frisky.”

“No.” Gheorghe smiled. “Well...yes. But, we won’t have any privacy at my family’s farm. You can sleep in my bed. I’ll take the sofa.”

“Go on, then.” John sat up and playfully nudged Gheorghe’s side with his elbow. “I’m not taking your bed. But I guess your mum wouldn’t be too keen on us sharing.”

“Only because we’re not married. She doesn’t care about...you know...us...being together.”

“Right.” John sunk back down next to Gheorghe and fluffed the pillow to fit comfortably underneath his head.

“You’re not nervous about meeting her?”

“No,” John murmured. “I just hope she won’t think it were my idea, I mean, not going back to your house right away.”

Gheorghe situated himself so that his arms were around John, wondering if he was ready to go back to sleep. “Well, I told her it was late and that I was too tired to drive that distance. It’s my uncle who will be upset. I borrowed his car.”

John shifted so that he was face to face with Gheorghe. “The arsehole?”

“Yes, but don’t say that.”

“Sorry.”

“You’re not wrong, but he has helped my mother with the farm.” Gheorghe paused. “I will warn you...he’s not too approving of...us.”

“Then I’ll try to steer clear of him.”

“Probably for the best. He holds a leadership position in the Church. I’ve been a stain on his reputation for years.”

John shrugged, pulling the thin bed sheet around them. “Then we’ll skip going to Church, wasn’t really planning to go anyway. Besides, I want to spend these few days with you and your mum and maybe see what’s in that postcard of yours.”

“Postcard?” Gheorghe finally nodded, realizing what John meant—the postcard he’d pinned up in the caravan. He’d left it on the wall next to the bed he shared with John in Yorkshire, more proof that he would come home eventually.

His father had sent that postcard to his mother while he was stationed in Anina near the Serbian border. He told her about the beautiful waterfalls he’d seen and how much he wished she was there with him. Gheorghe had wanted to visit those falls his whole life.

He once thought he might make the trip with Anghel, but it wasn’t until a few weeks before he left for Germany that Gheorghe went by himself to see the Bigar Waterfalls in person. There were plenty of tourists with the same idea, and he could understand why. It was one of the most breathtaking natural wonders he’d ever seen. His father hadn't been wrong.

“I will take you to see the falls one day. But we are headed east tomorrow. There won’t be enough time.”

“On our next trip...then?” John didn’t sound too disappointed. He yawned and nestled into his pillow.

Gheorghe could sense him drifting back to sleep. “John? Don’t you want to—“

“I’m sure we can find somewhere...quiet...another…” And then he was out.

**Author's Note:**

> Please forgive the pun of my title - I’m an Audrey Hepburn fan.


End file.
